Lisa Vetere, Ph.D., an associate professor of English, has been invited by the International Gothic Association and International Centre for Gothic Studies to the Teleborg Castle on the Linnaeus University campus for a book project on how gothicism portrays the planet and impacts human existence.
Vetere will be staying in Växjö, Sweden from May 29 through June 2. Her trip will be funded by the Swedish Foundation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.
The book will be titled Gothic and the Anthropocene and Vetere will contribute her expertise in a chapter titled “Horrors of the Horticultural: Charles Brockden Brown’s ‘Wieland (1798) and the Anthropocene.” Her piece will explain the implementation of attractive landscape trending in the construction of early American Gothic texts and how she promotes 19th century American literature to incorporate branches of dehumanized component.
“It is a way of defining our current geological era impacted by humans. This book will look at how stories about haunted houses, monsters, and the past coming back to haunt you. These things say something about the environment and nature,” said Vetere.
Vetere has published and presented eco-Gothic topics in the United States and Europe. Her experiences include A Heap of Runis: The Horrors of Deforestation in Lenora Sansay,’ The Rage of Willow: Malefic Witchcraft Fantasy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, book review of Vexed with Devils: Manhood and Witchcraft in Old and New England by Erika Gasser, Aggression and Trauma in the Witchcraft Tales of Salem’s Other Women at the Annual Conference of the Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society, moderator of Taking the Pulse of Feminism at the Eighth Annual Women’s Studies conference, and Guest Panelist at the Arthouse Film Festival screening of A Quiet Passion.
She developed a passion for Gothicism after studying the Salem Witchcraft Trials and how 19th century novels wrote about the Salem Witch Trials.
“I was interested in narratives of witchcraft. Narratives of witchcraft usually deal with narratives of supernatural magic scary things. Both gothic and witchcraft narratives are about peoples fears,” said Vetere.
She continued, “Gothics show that when you have ghost coming back from the past to hurt and scary you, you realize the past still has a powerful impact.”
Vetere teaches Critical Theory, Seminar in Literary Research, Early American Literature, Literature of the Colonial Americas, Mid-Nineteenth- Century American Literature, Literary Studies, and Writing.
“What I like about professor Vetere is that she wanted all of her students to do their best. It was easy to tell she’s passionate about her job and loves what she does, said Tameah N. Young, a junior software engineering student. “[She] is distinguished from other professors because she would do everything in her power to help her students succeed.”
“Professor Vetere’s outward personality is best described as enthusiastic, energetic, and approachable; I admire how forward she is when it comes to provoking thought and enthusiasm in her students,” said Sara Wojciechowski, a junior music industry student. “She is passionate about her work, insightful about the world, and a great conversationist.”
Wojciechowski explained that while attending Vetere’s lectures, she always feels challenged to think outside the context of traditional course work. “As I attend Vetere’s Literature II course, which encompasses novels that are themed around ghosts or otherworldly presence, I am encouraged to embrace my own perspectives on narratives,” she said.
